Dec 18, 2018In each of the last two seasons, the Orlando Magic were presented with chances to complete a season sweep of the San Antonio Spurs but did not come close to getting it done.After winning two games in Mexico City, the Magic host the Spurs on Wednesday night and get a chance at completing their second-ever season sweep of the Spurs.On Nov. 29, 2016, the Magic snapped a 10-game losing streak to the Spurs with a 95-83 win at San Antonio. In their attempt to get the sweep, the Magic shot 39.5 percent and committed 17 turnovers in a 107-79 home loss on Feb. 15, 2017.Last season, the Magic coasted to a 114-87 home win on Oct. 27, 2017, as part of their 8-4 start. They failed to get the sweep by shooting 34.1 percent and committing 20 turnovers in a 108-72 loss at San Antonio on March 13.On Nov. 4, the Magic led by as many as 26 points, shot 50.5 percent as Aaron Gordon scored 26 points in a 117-110 win at San Antonio. The win in San Antonio put the Magic in position to get their first season sweep since 2008-09 when they reached the NBA Finals."We played very well for about 40 minutes," Orlando guard Evan Fournier told reporters on Tuesday when asked about the first win over the Spurs. "Offensively, defensively the focus was pretty good. The intensity was very high. We had a five-minute stretch where we let up, but overall we were very good.Besides going for the season sweep, the Magic (14-15) will attempt to reach .500 again. They lost three straight after getting to 12-12 with a win at Miami on Dec. 4 but rebounded with two effective defensive showings against the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz."I've said it from the beginning that the difference in this team is our attitude," Orlando guard D. J. Augustin said. "In the past, we'd lose a few games and we'd keep losing because we'd get down on ourselves. Now, if we lose one or two, it might be nasty or a really tough loss, but we'll still fight back and get a good win against a good team." After a 97-91 win over the Bulls on Thursday, the Magic held the Jazz to 31.5 percent shooting and scored 41 points in the fourth quarter of a 96-89 victory on Saturday. The Magic allowed their second-fewest points of the season and their lowest shooting percentage of the season."I think it's been like that a couple of times this year -- more than just those last two games -- where our defense helped us stick around while our offense was struggling," said Orlando forward Jonathan Issac, who blocked six shots in Mexico City. "Absolutely, I think we've done a great job defensively and there's still so much room for improvement." San Antonio (16-15) has spent most of the last month hovering around .500. Since the Spurs were 7-4, they are 9-9 in their last 18 games.San Antonio was 11-14 after a 121-113 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers two weeks ago but has won five of its last six games. The Spurs rebounded from scoring 31 second-half points and blowing a 21-point lead Saturday to Chicago by coasting to a 123-96 win over the Philadelphia 76ers."There was nothing to say," forward Rudy Gay said after San Antonio's fourth double-digit win on a 5-1 homestand. "We were really engaged. There was no question we messed up and let that one go (against Chicago)." On Monday, San Antonio scored at least 120 points for the eighth time and shot 56.3 percent for its third-best shooting percentage of the season. It also was the ninth time the Spurs shot at least 50 percent.Rudy Gay scored 21 points and is averaging 16.6 points in his last nine games. DeMar DeRozan added 20 and is averaging 22.9 points in his last nine games."I think we're starting to figure out each other more than anything," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "We're pleased with the progress, but still have a long way to go." Orlando is 4-14 since getting its lone season sweep of the Spurs.Besides going for the season sweep, the Magic (14-15) will attempt to reach .500 again. They lost three straight after getting to 12-12 with a win at Miami on Dec. 4 but rebounded with two effective defensive showings against the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz."I've said it from the beginning that the difference in this team is our attitude," Orlando guard D. J. Augustin said. "In the past, we'd lose a few games and we'd keep losing because we'd get down on ourselves. Now, if we lose one or two, it might be nasty or a really tough loss, but we'll still fight back and get a good win against a good team."

Dec 18, 2018CHARLOTTE -- The revenge pendulum swings back in the favor of the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night when they face the Cleveland Cavaliers for the third time this season.The teams have split one-sided affairs, with the Hornets running up a 126-94 home win 10 days before the Cavaliers turned the tables in a 113-89 shellacking on their home floor.Charlotte has gone 3-3 this season when attempting to avenge a loss in its previous meeting with an opponent, beating Atlanta, Chicago and Milwaukee under those circumstances.Flipping things against an opponent that clobbered them by 24 points might be asking a lot of the Hornets, but surely that could have been said of the Cavaliers when they faced Charlotte after having been smothered by 32 in the earlier meeting."We're going to get better," Hornets coach James Borrego insisted to the gathered media after a 128-100 blowout loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday. "That's what we do. We respond." It was Cleveland that responded the last time the teams met. After allowing Charlotte to shoot 57.1 percent and accumulate 67 points off the bench in its earlier home win, the Cavaliers limited the Hornets to 34.7 percent shooting and their backups to 32 points in the rematch.For Cleveland, it was one of four times this season in which it avenged an earlier defeat.On the other hand, the Cavaliers haven't beaten any opponent more than once this season, a task that will be made tougher on Wednesday night by the fact that they'll be playing the second game of a road back-to-back.The good news is the first night of the sequence went well for Cleveland, which got a buzzer-beating tip-in from Larry Nance Jr. in a 92-91 win at Indiana.The Cavaliers were without three starters against the Pacers, with Tristan Thompson (sprained foot) and Jordan Clarkson (sore back) having recently joined Kevin Love (toe surgery) on the sidelines.Nance made the most of a rare start at center, pulling a career-high 16 rebounds to complement 15 points, six assists and three steals.David Nwaba was inserted into the starting backcourt, and while he didn't score in 14 minutes, the defensive-minded guard helped the Cavaliers hold the potent Pacers tandem of Victor Oladipo (12 points) and Darren Collison (five) to a total of 17 points on 6-for-21 shooting.Nwaba was returning to the starting group as Cavaliers coach Larry Drew sought to find a way to end a two-game losing streak."When he was in the starting lineup, we did establish some type of rhythm with our starters, and then the guys coming off the bench, they were in a rhythm as well," Drew explained of the Nwaba promotion before Tuesday's game. "What I saw with him in the starting lineup, I really liked." Defending Charlotte's guards has been a handful for most teams. Kemba Walker has scored 20 or more points in 20 of the team's 29 games, while Jeremy Lamb has reached double figures in 20 of his last 21 games.Neither has been at his best in the Hornets' current two-game losing streak, with Walker having been harassed into 8-for-33 shooting (4-for-18 on 3-pointers) while totaling 20 points in the losses to New York and the Lakers, while Lamb has shot 11-for-30 (2-for-11 on threes) and scored just 28 points.

Dec 18, 2018BOSTON -- If you checked the NBA standings before Tuesday night's results, you saw three teams with winning streaks of longer than three games.The Indiana Pacers had won seven straight, the Brooklyn Nets five and the Houston Rockets four.After that, it was the Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns, tied at three.The Suns?Yes, a team that had been 4-22 through 26 games, a team rumored to be leaving Phoenix for Seattle in an arena dispute -- a report shot down by the owner, for now, anyway -- had won three games in a row to get to 7-22.Small steps."We're building," Devin Booker said after his 38 points led the Suns to a Monday win over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. "We're getting better every game." And moving from one Garden to the other, the Suns are in Boston on Wednesday night to face the Celtics, who saw their eight-game winning streak snapped Saturday night at Detroit.The Suns swung a trade the other day. In a deal that was tied up as a three way when the Memphis Grizzlies balked about the wrong Brooks being in the trade, Phoenix moved big offseason pickup Trevor Ariza to Washington for Austin Rivers and Kelly Oubre in a two-team transaction.Rivers was promptly bought out. Both sides agreeed that he was a veteran who could help a winning team more than one that's building, and he wound up in Memphis. Oubre, who scored 20 points against the Celtics just last week, was slated to make his Suns debut Wednesday.Both Oubre and Booker have a past with the Celtics.Oubre has played 13 career regular-season games against Boston and was also suspended for a game in the 2017 playoff series between the teams. Booker, on the other hand, scored 70 points at TD Garden in a performance slightly tainted by the Suns, losing the game, doing things to get him extra points.In six career games against the Celtics, Booker, who had 38 against them Nov. 8, is averaging 32.0 points (easily his high against any team), 4.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists per games.The Celtics rallied from 22 points down, got a 3-pointer from Marcus Morris with 1.1 seconds left in regulation and beat the Suns in overtime on Nov. 8. But that was Boston's only win on a five-game road trip and the Celtics were at 10-10 before reeling off eight straight wins.On Saturday night, they saw nemesis Andre Drummond grab 20 rebounds and scored 19 points in the Pistons' win.So, at 18-11, the Celtics, who have had injury troubles, are still looking for consistency -- and no one has been looking harder than Gordon Hayward, who missed all but about five minutes of last season with a horrific leg injury."Getting healthy and being healthy is the first thing you have to worry about," Hayward said after Saturday's loss. "When you're not healthy, you can't do the things you want on the court. That's the hurdle I want to go over first, and then I can try to figure everything else out." Jamal Crawford, known throughout his career, posted a career-high 14 assists in the Suns' win Monday night. Booker scored 38 in his second game back from missing six games with an injury."I think especially for me, I'm known as such a scorer, and I can score -- like, I really can score -- but sometimes the defense thinks that, too, and they fall asleep and I see guys," Crawford said.The Celtics have defeated the Suns each of the last three seasons at TD Garden.

Dec 18, 2018Blake Griffin posted a triple-double Monday night. Actually, he had a quadruple-double because he reached double figures in a category the forward would like to forget.Meanwhile, the Minnesota Timberwolves enjoyed another productive night on their home floor, continuing their significant disparity between home and road games.Griffin hopes to rebound from a 10-turnover showing when the Detroit Pistons visit the Timberwolves on Wednesday night.The Pistons (14-14) are 1-7 in their last eight games after winning five straight from Nov. 24 to Dec. 1. Five of those defeats are by single digits, including Monday's 107-104 home loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.Against Milwaukee, Griffin posted his ninth triple-double with 19 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. In his second triple-double for the Pistons, Griffin went 4 of 13 and also committed a career-high 10 turnovers.Griffin missed four shots less than eight feet from the rim and the Pistons were at 42.1 percent (16 of 38) on shots less than eight feet from the basket while finishing at 44.3 percent overall."It's very frustrating, but I don't know if it even comes down to that," Griffin said. "I was unbelievably awful tonight. We had a chance to tie it despite everything I did."We're not going to win games if I have 10 turnovers and make poor decisions like I did down the stretch. I feel bad for these guys because they played so hard and got us back in this game. I wasn't good for them tonight. You can look at a lot of things, but it comes down to that." While Griffin is averaging 26.9 points in his last eight games, he also is averaging 4.3 turnovers in those games and a career-high 3.9 overall this season."He's got to get a rhythm, seeing them coming, getting a feel for it and making sure his timing of passing the ball out is there," Detroit coach Dwane Casey said. "Right now, he's not getting that, whether it is early in the game or late in the game." One of Griffin's triple-doubles was with the Los Angeles Clippers on Jan. 22 shortly before Detroit acquired him. He finished with 32 points, 12 assists, and 11 rebounds, but the Timberwolves wound up with a 126-118 win in Los Angeles.Minnesota (14-16) is 10-7 since trading Jimmy Butler to Philadelphia on Nov. 12. Most of those wins are at home as the Timberwolves are 8-3 in their last 11 home games after coasting to a 132-105 win over the Sacramento Kings.The Timberwolves scored at least 130 points for the fourth time after returning from a winless four-game West Coast trip that saw them allow 119.2 points but facing Sacramento for the second time in three games, Minnesota resembled the team that allowed 100.6 points in their first 12 games after the trade.Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 14 points and 14 assists as the Timberwolves led by as many as 36. Nine players reached double figures as the Timberwolves shot 49 percent and received 53 points from their reserves."You're always worried when you have a lead like that is sustaining your effort, and you're especially concerned with a team like that, that shoots 3s the way they do," Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau said. "We were fortunate to work our way out of that and then I was very pleased with our bench." One of those not reaching double figures was Jeff Teague, who sat out with left ankle inflammation. Derrick Rose scored 13 points as the starting point guard and likely will start again because Teague will miss the game.Detroit has won the last six meetings after losing the previous 10 and is facing the Timberwolves for the first time with Griffin on the team.

Dec 19, 2018HOUSTON -- Having spent far too much time ranked among the dregs of the league defensively, the Rockets aren't exactly in the position to expect lasting defensive might.Improvement on the defensive end, even if only incremental, is sufficient at this stage. The Rockets (15-14) have worked their way back above .500 and within striking distance of first place in the Southwest Division by winning four consecutive games. And they've done so by more closely resembling the defensive unit that many expected they'd be entering the season.Houston has produced a 107.1 defensive rating during its streak, not exactly a sterling mark but good enough to rank in the middle of the league pack over that stretch of games. In order for the Rockets to match their season-long winning streak of five games, they'll need more vigorous defense on Wednesday, when they host the Washington Wizards at Toyota Center."We've been a little bit more aggressive on defense," Rockets guard Chris Paul said. "We're getting into the ball, making them make tough decisions, and not just sitting back in a rocking chair. We're switching things up here and there." The Rockets have literally switched things up defensively of late, moving away from their switch-everything philosophy to a more judicious approach in avoiding mismatches. That adjustment has allowed for their new rotation players to settle in while also alleviating some stress placed on center Clint Capela, tasked too often with defending guards on the perimeter.Initiating such a drastic change 20-plus games into a season requires collective dexterity. The Rockets appear to be making progress on that front by focusing intently on the minutiae."Just how hard we're playing and attention to detail," Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni said of keys behind their recent surge. "James (Harden) is playing at an MVP level if not better. He's off the charts. And just guys are buying in and knowing the situation and trying to make it better."Every play we're connected defensively and talking. We do make our mistakes, but they talk about it and get it better like last year. And yeah, just the overall chemistry, atmosphere is better. And just maybe that's winning; it cures a lot of stuff. It starts with hard work and they're doing that, and then maybe that leads to a better feeling about everything." The Wizards (12-19) were unable to build on the momentum of their impressive win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, losing 118-110 on Tuesday to the Atlanta Hawks. That game showcased the return of forward Trevor Ariza, who was re-acquired over the weekend from the Phoenix Suns. Ariza posted 19 points, eight rebounds, six steals and four assists in 38 minutes.Given his reputation as a respected veteran and previous tenure in Washington (2012-14), Ariza is viewed as someone capable of helping steer the Wizards' wayward ship."I've always been the type of person or player whatever is asked of me to do, I try to do to the best of my ability," Ariza said."They were struggling a little bit, but they couldn't have been struggling worse than what I was struggling with. Being here, I plan to come in and just try to work through whatever it is that we are going through at the time."

Dec 18, 2018CHICAGO -- The Brooklyn Nets haven't had as much sustained success as they have strung together in more than three years.Never mind that heading into Wednesday's game against the Chicago Bulls, the Nets (14-18) are four games under .500 despite winning six straight games. But after Brooklyn used a balanced scoring attack to extend its winning streak with a 115-110 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, the Nets will attempt to keep rolling in the back end of a back-to-back against Chicago on Wednesday at the United Center.The winning streak came after Brooklyn endured an eight-game slide. Now, Brooklyn has left their past struggles in the rearview mirror."It's tough when you're in the midst of an eight-game losing streak to think long-term, but you look back and at the end of that eight games, we had 56 games left," Brooklyn's Joe Harris said over the weekend, according to Newsday. "There's a lot of time to right the ship. That's where we're at right now." Guard D'Angelo Russell has paced a Nets' offense that has scored at least 125 points in three of its last four games. Russell finished with 22 points and 13 assists Tuesday against the Lakers. Brooklyn continues to win despite playing without guard Allen Crabbe, who has missed three straight games with a sore knee.The Bulls (7-24) enter the game having lost 11 of their last 13 games. Their latest setback came in the form of a 121-96 loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday, but the Bulls demonstrated they are willing to stick together -- even when physicality enters the equation.Monday's loss included a shoving match that spilled into the Bulls bench and involved coach Jim Boylen placing Oklahoma City's Jerami Grant in a headlock. The incident started when Dunn and Thunder star Russell Westbrook got into a shoving match that led to even more activity.Despite the 25-point loss, Boylen appreciated the way his players had each other's back."That's all we've been talking about is fighting for each other," Boylen said of the incident, according to the Chicago Tribune. "We talk about being a pack of wolves, man. I thought we had some of that. I liked the look in our guys' eyes when that happened. It bonded them a little bit." The loss dropped Chicago to 2-5 under Boylen and although the Bulls have been competitive in most of the seven games under him, they are still struggling to play winning basketball on a consistent basis.Chicago has played the last two games without starting guard Zach LaVine, who sustained a left ankle injury, which the Bulls said would keep LaVine out of the lineup for at least two games. While LaVine will miss his third straight game Wednesday, Boylen was encouraged how LaVine's teammates have responded to adversity, which included Monday's incident against the Thunder."I think perseverance is one of my positive traits -- one of many," Boylen said Monday, according to the Tribune. "But I also know from this business that it's a long season. You're going to go through some difficult times."I look at this thing as a family. Your family is going to have moments where things are difficult. Maybe you communicate poorly. Maybe you have drama, an issue. And that's a moment to stand up and reinforce the things you believe in."

Dec 18, 2018Forwards Nikola Mirotic and Julius Randle will watch from the bench Wednesday night when the New Orleans Pelicans look to get back to .500 when the visit the Central Division-leading Bucks in Milwaukee.Both are dealing with sprained ankles. Mirotic has missed the Pelicans' last two games thanks to an injury first sustained Nov. 17. Randle went down late Sunday during a loss to Miami and has yet to return to practice.Their injuries are the latest blow for a team already playing short-handed after Elfrid Payton broke a finger, leaving him out of action at least until after the holidays, and kicking off a stretch of four straight games against opponents with records better than .500."It's a challenge with (Mirotic, Randle and Payton in the lineup), so obviously it's going to be a challenge without them," Bucks coach Alvin Gentry said of missing both Mirotic and Randle simultaneously for the first time this season. "You just have to play games. That's why they play the game. We played Boston without three of their starters and four of their top six guys and that's why you have guys on the roster and it's why you try to get as deep as you possibly can." Depth hasn't exactly been a strength for the Pelicans, who rank 29th in bench scoring this season with just 29.6 points per game. New Orleans' reserves have been outscored in each of the last five games -- averaging just 19.2 points -- while opponents' second units have averaged 45.8 points during the same stretch."This group has the ability," Solomon Hill said. "We just have to trust each other and know we can get keep better and turn that corner we keep talking about. Injuries are part of the game and we know that, but they do change what we do and they change some of our roles, but that's all part of it."The games keep coming and we just have to play through it. We'll get it figured out." Forward D. J. Wilson has for the most part languished at the end of Milwaukee's bench this season but is looking to build on a breakout performance his last time out when he had nine points, three rebounds and three assists as the Bucks held on for a 107-104 victory Monday night in Detroit."I just thought he played great," Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said of Wilson. "His focus, his energy, just everything he did. I told a lot of people how great he was in September and early in training camp. It's great to see him healthy. His teammates trust him. We all trust him." An injury to Ersan Ilyasova made it possible for Wilson, the team's first-round draft pick a year ago, to get extended playing time. Milwaukee's second-round pick in that draft, guard Sterling Brown, also got additional minutes while Malcolm Brogdon remained sidelined with a sore left hamstring.Budenholzer said the injury was "mild" but that the team was taking a patient approach to Brogdon's recovery."I think we're just ... maybe being aggressively cautious if there is such a phrase," Budenholzer said. "He's not quite right and I think just considering the long haul, the big picture, just give him another day or two or just give him until when he's ready." The Pelicans swept the season series a year ago and have won three in a row overall against the Bucks, who haven't won a season series against the Pelicans since the franchise moved to New Orleans for the 2002-03 season.

Dec 18, 2018SALT LAKE CITY -- Since returning to action in December, Stephen Curry's shots have been falling at a blistering pace. It's good news for Golden State and bad news for teams trying to figure out how to slow down the Warriors' offense.Utah is the latest opponent to draw the chore of reigning in Curry when the Jazz host Golden State on Wednesday night. The all-star guard is enjoying his finest shooting season since the 2015-16 campaign when he averaged 30.1 points on 50.4 percent shooting over 79 regular season games.Over his last eight games, Curry is averaging 27.8 points on 47 percent shooting. As usual, he is doing a ton of damage from the perimeter, hitting at a 44.8 percent clip on outside baskets in December.Curry scored 20 points in Monday's 110-93 win over Memphis. His 3-pointer with 7:37 left in the second quarter helped him become just the fifth Warriors player to score 15,000 career regular season points -- joining Wilt Chamberlain, Rick Barry, Paul Arizin, and Chris Mullin."It's hard to really put it into perspective, to be honest," Curry said. "We're still in the moment, still in the journey. Eventually, when it's all said and done -- hopefully, a long time from now -- I'll be able to sit down and really reflect on what that means. Again, it's beyond my wildest imagination when I was first drafted here what this could all mean." Both Curry and Kevin Durant are averaging 28.8 points for the season and Klay Thompson is chipping in 22.4 points per contest. The Warriors (21-10) have benefited from having all three back on the court together, with six wins in the eight games since Curry returned to the lineup.Keeping up with that trio will be a chore for a Jazz team that's still working to find some consistency on the offensive end.Utah (14-17) is enduring a rough December for the second straight year. The Jazz have lost four of their last five games amid one of the NBA's most grueling slates in the early part of the season. They averaged just 93.0 points on 35.1 percent shooting in losses to Orlando and Houston.The Jazz showed some progress in rallying late against the Rockets. Donovan Mitchell, who finished with a team-high 23 points, cut Houston's lead to two when he hit three free throws with 35 seconds remaining. But James Harden secured the win with a step-back three on Houston's next possession and the Rockets escaped with a 102-97 win.Utah isn't making excuses while enduring a brutal slate that's seen them play a league-high 20 road games through their first 31 contests."If we look at it as a stretch, that's when it starts to get monotonous and starts to get like 'Man, it's tough,'" Mitchell told the Deseret News. "We just look at it one game at a time and we thought we would've had this one but we have to go and get the next one." This is the second meeting of the season between the Jazz and the Warriors. Golden State edged Utah 124-123 in the Jazz home opener on October 19th.Utah got 27 points from Joe Ingles in the first meeting, but could not overcome 38 points on 14-of-25 shooting from Durant. Former Jazz player Jonas Jerebko sealed the win for the Warriors with a tip-in basket with 0.3 seconds left.

Dec 18, 2018SACRAMENTO -- The Sacramento Kings will seek to clinch their first season-series victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in 11 years when the Western Conference rivals meet for the third time this season on Wednesday night.After having won just eight times in 37 meetings over the previous 10 seasons, the Kings surprised the Thunder 131-120 on the road in October, before duplicating their success with a 117-113 home win last month.Sacramento also beat Oklahoma City twice in the 2016 season, which earned the Kings a split in their four-game series.Otherwise, before this season, the Thunder had dominated the rivalry dating back to a 3-1 Kings win in 2008.Both teams had Tuesday off, which was a welcome relief for the Kings, who were coming off a 132-105 thumping at the hands of Minnesota on the second night of a back-to-back on Monday.After having seen his team win 120-113 at Dallas the night before, Kings coach Dave Joerger pulled the plug on his starters early against the Timberwolves, saving their energy for another day.The Kings might be a young team, but afterward they seemed to grasp the concept of allowing one game to get away for the greater good."So far, we've had a great season," noted Kosta Koufos, one of the backups who benefitted from the tactic with 23 minutes off the bench. "We have a good team coming in with OKC, so we need to look forward to that one." The Kings have managed to win a pair from the Thunder this season despite allowing Russell Westbrook and Paul George to have big games.Westbrook has averaged 30.5 points and 12.5 rebounds, missing triple-doubles by two and three assists, while George has poured in an average of 28.0 points.The Kings, meanwhile, have gotten two surprisingly productive games from Iman Shumpert (26 and 23 points), but otherwise used different means to record the wins.They shot 54.9 percent in the win at Oklahoma City, and later held the Thunder to 41.7 percent shooting in the home win.The Thunder has since righted its ship, winning nine of 13, including two straight at home leading into a two-game trip.The season is going so well, Oklahoma City management announced it was picking up the option on coach Billy Donovan's contract for the 2020 season."That's exciting, man," Westbrook gushed to reporters Tuesday. "Billy's been nothing but great for our organization, for myself. He's been very understanding when he first got here and the same now. Excited to have him back." Both teams enter the game on a nice offensive roll.The Kings, who have alternated wins and losses in their last four games, have scored 104 or more points in 16 of their last 17 games, topping 120 in six of their last 10 outings.They are 8-3 this season when scoring 120 or more.Meanwhile, the Thunder has gone for 110 or more points in eight of its last nine games.

Dec 18, 2018RALEIGH, N. C. -- North Carolina State mostly cruised through the early home games on its schedule and now No. 7 Auburn arrives for Wednesday night's non-conference showdown at PNC Arena.The Wolfpack (9-1) dispatched opponents on one of the nation's weakest schedules to date to get off to a grand start to the season.This matchup is bound to create a different kind of interest."I think they are all real tests," N. C. State coach Kevin Keatts said. "When you look at us, as we have played our schedule, we've only got tougher. This will be our fourth Power 5 team, and I'm excited about it." Auburn (9-1) needed overtime for a 75-71 victory Saturday against Alabama-Birmingham. Jared Harper provided 31 points, including 15-for-16 on free throws for the Tigers."I prepare for moments like that," Harper said of several clutch contributions. "To have the trust of my coaches and teammates means a lot." But Auburn has shown that multiple players can produce big offensive outputs. In the previous game, Bryce Brown poured in 34 points against Dayton. Those were the most points for an Auburn player in 14 years.Like N. C. State, much of the Auburn offense is generated at the defensive end."When we play defense, we want to create," Harper said. "We don't just want to lay back and let teams do what they want to do. ... Anytime we're able to make a play defensively to lead to easy baskets for us, we look to do that." Auburn and N. C. State hold similarities because the teams use deep benches."They go 10 deep. They pressure. They shoot a lot of 3s," Keatts said.The Tigers' only loss came to Duke in the Maui Invitational semifinals.Auburn is the highest non-conference foe to visit N. C. State since December 2011, when Syracuse was No. 1 prior to joining the Atlantic Coast Conference.Last season in Keatts' first year on the job, the Wolfpack went 3-1 against top-10 teams.This season, N. C. State had dealt with some away-from-home challenges, leading most of the way before falling at Wisconsin and later winning neutral-court matchups against Vanderbilt and Penn State."When you look at it, our schedule was a little bit easier starting off, but everybody ends up playing three or four Power 5 teams (in non-league play)," Keatts said. "For us, we just played them a little bit later on." For Auburn, this marks the first true road game of the season (and only such outing in non-league play), though the Tigers have played four neutral-court games. Two of those resulted in overtime victories by defeating Xavier and Alabama-Birmingham.Coach Bruce Pearl called this part of the schedule "good and tough for us." For N. C. State, this might be an ideal time to face this type of competition."Our chemistry has got a lot better," Keatts said. "I think guys are starting to figure it out, which is good for us. The guys who we need to score the basketball are scoring the basketball. The guys who we need to be role players are starting to understand that. So I like where we are headed into the Auburn game."

Dec 18, 2018After a 10-day hiatus to complete exams before winter break, No. 5 Virginia returns to action Wednesday night to meet South Carolina for the 50th time in both school's history while rekindling an old ACC rivalry.The Cavaliers, who jumped up one spot in the Associated Press Poll despite not playing a game last week, are looking to continue their undefeated run and are off to their best start (9-0) since going 19-0 in 2014-15."I know going in against a team like South Carolina that they'll be very physical and very aggressive," Virginia coach Tony Bennett said of South Carolina. "They really have good pressure defense and just two years removed from a Final Four." South Carolina (4-5) has gotten off to a rough start so far this season just before SEC play begins, and seeing a top-five team in Virginia heading down to Columbia spells trouble. The Gamecocks have lost three of their last four games and are also coming off a lengthy break after losing their last game to Michigan 89-78 on Dec. 8."I saw a different gear from our guys," South Carolina coach Frank Martin said after the loss to the Wolverines. "I was real proud that they stepped up to the challenge of playing such a good team." Despite the loss, the Gamecocks became the only team so far this season to shoot 45 percent or better against Michigan as South Carolina knocked down 52 percent of their shots in the game.Martin's Gamecocks will now face another stiff defensive challenge against Virginia, which ranks second in the country in fewest points per game allowed (51.2).In Virginia's 57-49 win over Virginia Commonwealth, the Rams shot just 29.5 percent against the Cavaliers' stingy defense.One piece that will be missing from Virginia's equation on Wednesday night will be freshman guard Kihei Clark, who underwent surgery to repair a hairline fracture in a wrist. Clark played with the fracture against VCU and scored nine points while making all seven of his free throws. The timetable for his return is unknown.Virginia boasts three players averaging in double figures, led by sophomore De'Andre Hunter, who is 14th in the ACC at 15.6 points per game. Hunter ranks third in the conference in field goal percentage (.573) and is joined by juniors Ty Jerome (13.7 ppg) and Kyle Guy (13.4 ppg) to pace the Cavaliers' offense.The Gamecocks are led by guard A. J. Lawson, who is averaging a team-high 14.3 points per game, and Chris Silva gives South Carolina a physical post presence. Silva is averaging 11.1 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.Virginia holds a slim 25-24 lead in the series. The teams are meeting for the first time since the Gamecocks knocked off the Cavaliers 74-67 in the first round of the 2002 NIT.South Carolina was a member of the ACC from 1953 to 1971 and is no stranger to battling highly ranked Virginia squads. The Cavaliers narrowly edged the Gamecocks 50-49 in January 1971 just months before South Carolina left the conference and became an independent."It will be a challenging environment and good for our team to go on the road and play in this setting," Bennett said.The matchup on the hardwood comes just 10 days before the schools meet on the gridiron in Charlotte at the Belk Bowl.

Dec 18, 2018The last time someone said they were looking forward to going to the dentist probably was the first time someone ever said that.And that's how Mississippi State coach Ben Howland feels as his No. 17-ranked Bulldogs prepare to play host on Wednesday night to Wofford."It will be like a root canal," he told the (Jackson, Miss.) Clarion Ledger.While the Bulldogs have been under the radar while building a 9-1 record, the Terriers haven't backed down from anyone. They enter with a 9-3 record that includes losses to North Carolina, Oklahoma and Kansas."Bottom line is, (playing Wofford is) preparing us for what's the most important, which is the SEC," Howland said. "Every night, the SEC is going to be a monster. There are no breaks. Every game is difficult." For Wofford coach Mike Young, playing Mississippi State won't be a walk in the park, either."Mississippi State is a top-25 team, they are coached by a man (Howland) that has won a lot of games and who has been to Final Fours, so we need to go down there and play well to give ourselves a chance to win," Young said.The Terriers like to run and shoot the 3 where they fire up more than 28 per game. Wofford averages 81.0 points per game and owns one of the best scoring margins (20.9 points) in the country.Senior guard Fletcher Magee (17.3 points) made two free throws on Saturday to become Wofford's Division I career points leader, passing Noah Dahlman."Fletcher has been awesome," Young said after Magee passed the previous mark. "As I've said a thousand times, I'm fortunate enough to coach him, but the best part about tonight is that we've still got a lot of games ahead of us with him, and it was a great team win tonight." In addition to passing Dahlman, Magee's two 3-pointers moved him into second place all time in the Southern Conference with 397 3-pointers, passing College of Charleston's Andrew Goudelock. Standing ahead is Davidson and current Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, who holds the record at 414."Andrew Goudelock was a great player, so that's some great company for Fletcher," Young said of Magee, who shoots better than 36 percent from beyond the arc. "He's just a scorer. He's gotten bigger and stronger over the years and he can do so many things offensively, he makes it a lot of fun to coach." And a headache to coach against."These guys are a problem," Howland said.But the Bulldogs didn't rise to No. 17 by accident. A veteran team, Mississippi State has been winning with defense. In the last outing, a win over Cincinnati, the Bulldogs allowed the Bearcats to shoot just 37.3 percent from the field -- 10 percent below their average."Everything starts with our defense," Howland told the Starkville Daily News. "Nothing changes. What you control most is your intensity and your preparation for people defensively, then when you have it going at the other end, you really have a chance to be good. Night in and night out, defense always gives you a chance to win." Making the Bulldogs even more dangerous is their 3-point shooting. During their past three games, they have made 45 of 84 from long range.Quinndary Weatherspoon (16.5 points) leads four players who score in double figures and a fifth averages 9.9 points.Howland praised his squad for doing the dirty work that it takes to be a champion."We were scrappy," Howland said. "There was one play where everyone was diving on the floor for the ball. There were so many great plays of hustle and grit and fight and toughness. That's what it takes to be good."

Time: 8:00 PM EST Venue: Capital One Arena, Washington, D. C., 20004 / WASHINGTON -- Even though they are playing their best hockey of the season, expect the Washington Capitals to find a little something extra in the tank Wednesday when the Pittsburgh Penguins come to town for the next chapter in this storied rivalry." It's always something you kind of look forward to and know about," Washington coach Todd Reirden told reporters. "Our players are excited to play against them. It's always a good challenge." The Capitals have won five straight games to solidify first place atop the Metropolitan Division behind the continued excellence of Alexander Ovechkin, who has seven goals in his last three games and 29 on the season." Of course, you want to have as many points as you can," Ovechkin said after practice Monday. "But I always say, you can't score every game. You can't make points every night. It's hard. The league is hard right now. If you get a point or you get a goal, you get (lucky). ... I just try to do my best." Ovechkin's best has been more than enough for the Capitals, as their captain's play is raising everyone's level during a run in which they've won 12 of 13." The players are making it difficult for our staff to pick the guys who should be playing each night and that's a good thing," Reirden said. "That internal competition that we have going on right now is something that's allowed us to have the type of success we've had the last 24, 25 games. It's a good thing. It's a good problem to have." The Penguins have righted the ship after a slow start, going 8-4-2 over their last 14 games, but they remain inconsistent, as evidenced in a 4-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Monday in which they squandered a two-goal lead. The loss highlighted a persistent problem for Pittsburgh: the second period. In their 18 defeats, the Penguins have a minus-18 goal differential." Hopefully we can eliminate some of the bad periods here and get back on a substantial winning streak," Penguins goalie Casey DeSmith told reporters after Monday's game. "It's just part of the game. We have to do a little bit better job of managing it and we'll be in good shape." While Braden Holtby figures to get the start for Washington, the Penguins goaltending situation remains fluid between DeSmith and Matt Murray, especially given the team's busy schedule over the next few weeks." We're trying to keep them both at their best by keeping them well-rested and sharp," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan told the team's website. "Looking at the big picture this week, both of them are going to get a significant amount of playing time." This is already the third game of the season between the Penguins and Capitals, with the teams splitting the prior two games. Pittsburgh won a 7-6 thriller on Oct. 4, while Washington captured a 2-1 victory on Nov. 7." Yeah, it's a big rivalry, with lots of emotion," Ovechkin said. "Fans get involved. You guys. It's a fun time to play."

Time: 8:30 PM EST Venue: Pepsi Center, Denver, Colo., 80204 / Two teams coming off disappointing losses meet Wednesday, and both are trying to figure things out on special teams. The Montreal Canadiens can't seem to score on the power play and suddenly the Colorado Avalanche are struggling to consistently kill penalties. Something has to give when the teams play at Pepsi Center in Denver on Wednesday night. Montreal (17-12-5) lost to Boston 4-0 on Monday night in a game right winger Brendan Gallagher called "one of the worst of my career" afterward. The Canadiens had won six of their previous eight games, they were rested but were outshot 35-22 by a Bruins team playing the second of back-to-back games. Every team has off nights but Montreal has had a season-long struggle of scoring with the man advantage. The Canadiens haven't had a power-play goal in their last 25 chances and have only scored 14 all season." It's just the little things," Gallagher told Sportsnet after Monday's loss. "We have to win puck battles. It's not a strategic problem. It's just work ethic, compete. We have to find a way to get the puck. We didn't have enough control of the puck in the zone to put into practice anything that we've worked on or talked about. It's as simple as that. It's not strategic." Colorado's issues might be more strategic than anything. The Avalanche were one of the top penalty-killing teams in the first two months but have struggled lately. They have allowed at least one power-play goal in six of the last seven games, including two to the New York Islanders on Monday. Colorado (18-10-6) has gone 1-3-1 in its last five games and has allowed seven power-play goals in that stretch." It looks to me like we're just not as quick as we were earlier," Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said after Monday's loss. "We had some problems with clears for a while but that wasn't a problem tonight. They score on a flank shot. We're not blocking enough shots; we're not in the shooting lanes enough. That's two of the last three that have come from the flank on one-timers. We're taking too many penalties, too." Coaches claim the goaltender is the team's best penalty killer and the Avalanche haven't gotten that from No. 1 stopper Semyon Varlamov. He has allowed 21 goals in his last five starts and was pulled from two of those games. His goals-against average over the last five games is 5.32, but he won't get the chance to improve on that Wednesday. Philipp Grubauer will start in net against Montreal. Colorado is also expected to get back forward Alexander Kerfoot after a four-game absence with an upper-body injury." It looks like he should be good to play," Bednar told hockeybuzz.com after Tuesday's practice. "I just have to get confirmation (from the medical staff) that he's in for sure." The Canadiens made a roster move ahead of their six-game road trip with the recall of 20-year-old defenseman Victor Mete. Mete played 23 games before being sent to the AHL to build his confidence after some struggles. Montreal sent Noah Juulsen down to make room for Mete.

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